Mac
I was still in a shitty mood from my ten hour flight. My wolf, Aries, absolutely hated being out of touch with solid ground and stuck in a metal contraption that was an airplane, soaring thousands of feet in the sky. Each time I had to take a flight, it was a constant battle of wills inside me, and even though I usually had my way, Aries never gave me a moment’s peace during the entire flight, making his displeasure known in my head until I was an irritable, miserable fuck by the time the plane landed.Because of this, I avoided taking flights whenever I could. Lucy usually would go on those business trips that necessitated flying. But a trip to Washington for the quarterly shareholder meeting was something that requires my presence and was unavoidable if I wanted to keep the funds flowing.Added to that, the meeting had been a bloody waste of time and I’d hated every minute of the time I’d spent trying to convince those stodgy farts to shell out the funds Gen Pro needed. All these combined had put me in a less than charitable mood.Not that me being in a bad mood was anything out of the ordinary. Depending on who you asked, I was either a mean bastard, or a short-tempered asshole or - the best one - a miserable sack of shit trapped in the body of an adonis. That last one was courtesy of Blake, my beta.And now, this situation was starting to piss me off. The image of those wide, light brown eyes accompanied by that whispered ‘please’ had been going around in my head since I’d barged into Lucy’s office.The edge of panic and desperation behind her words had gotten to me and I’d relented on the job.She was good at dishing out the pitiful look.I had to give her that.She was so fucking good at looking desperate that she’d fooled Lucy - the last person to fall for that sort of thing - and me, the miserable sack of shit. I did not get fooled, not by anyone.Period.I was good at sniffing out people’s bullshit, could detect when people were not being entirely honest by the scent of their fear and if there was one thing I was a hundred percent certain of, it was that Blair Gaines was not being truthful.Still, she had looked so… vulnerable. Like a frightened doe caught in the glare of the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. When she’d trained those eyes on me, I’d been reminded of the small prey I sometimes went after when I shifted. I never killed them, but would chase them down for the thrill of the hunt. The fear in their eyes when Aries loomed over them, the way their little bodies curled in on themselves as they waited for the killing strike that never came… that was the same way Blair had looked.Eyes filled with fear and hopelessness, the scent of desperation and terror oozing out of her in waves. Because of that, I’d given Lucy the go ahead and left them to it.Speaking of scents…I leaned forward in my chair and placed my arms on my desk. There was something off about Blair’s scent, something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. She smelled human, the slightly tangy scent of blood and flesh untainted by the Lore, but there were moments when I caught a whiff of something elusive. It was usually gone in a flash, but it left me discomfited, especially when Aries had such a strong reaction to it.And it wasn’t just the weird scent. In the three days she’d been working here, I’d noticed that every time her name was mentioned, it seemed to take her a second longer than usual to respond, like she wasn’t quite used to it. I was convinced she’d lied about her name.And what the hell was in that bloody backpack she always carried with her?The damn thing was tattered and dirty but it never left her side, even when she was going on errands. It was like an extra body part for fuck’s sake. I wondered what she was hiding in there that made her so jumpy anytime someone so much as glanced at it.Then it hit me like a dash of cold water.Could it - was it possible she carried something illegal in there? Drugs? Was she a user?My lips curled in disgust. If she was, then that would explain the wasted, emaciated look and skittish, suspicious nature. She looked like a grunge emo teen high on something, what with that stark black badly cut hair and heavy liner. All that black made her look even more sallow and undernourished. I’d had a look at her resume and was surprised to discover she was actually twenty three and not eighteen like I’d assumed, unless of course, she had lied about that too.Seriously, what the hell had I been thinking in letting her keep the job? This woman was 'Trouble', with a capital T and any sane person could see that. Okay, I will admit that in the last three days, she’d pulled off quite a feat by setting up the SAS system and showed the lab techs how to use it, which did make things much easier around here. But seriously, we could have just hired her temporarily to set it up and paid her off once it was done.Now, I was stuck with an employee who made the worst tasting coffee on this side of the planet and who wouldn’t look me in the eye.“Perfect.” I said in a tone filled with sarcasm.My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I grabbed it, needing a distraction.“What?” I growled into the speaker, rising from my seat. I crossed to the tall window and leaned against it, staring absently down at the view.“Hello to you too, you miserable asshole.” My beta said in his normal cheerful tone.The bastard always sounded like one of those cheerful fuckers marketing insurance, which always set my teeth on edge. I would bet my last dime that he did it on purpose to rile me up.“I heard from the grapevine that you’re back in town and I was wondering if you had somehow managed to forget you have a sworn duty to let your second in command know? We are supposed to finalize the plans for the expansion today, or did you forget that too?”I checked my watch, and seeing it was already past seven am, I swore under my breath. Shit. I had forgotten. My mind had been filled with this Blair issue that I’d thought of little else. What the actual hell? I’d only dropped in to work this early so I could check on my ongoing projects before meeting up with Blake.We’d recently purchased a large ranch, secluded, close to the woods and large enough to accommodate my growing pack. The old place - a four bedroom house, which I’d inherited from my grandmother and converted into a space for my pack, could barely hold our fast growing numbers.“Has the contractor arrived?” I asked, raking my fingers through my hair in frustration. Barely three days and the damn woman was causing this much trouble.“Not yet, but he texted that he’d be late due to some heavy traffic.” Blake paused, and when he spoke, the cheeriness was replaced with concern. “What’s up man? You sound more stressed than usual.”“I am stressed.” I grumbled. “Your bloody mate lost her damn mind and hired some grunge emo chick off the street without consulting me first and I’m almost sure the kid’s high on something, lied about her age and to top it all off, she makes the worst damn coffee I’ve ever tasted.”Blake’s laughter made me glare at the screen. The fucker was lucky he wasn’t in the room at the moment or I’d have decked him for laughing at his alpha.My instincts told me I was no longer alone and I spun around quickly.Fuck.Blair stood blinking at me in the open doorway, a mug of coffee in hand. I lowered the phone, while in the background, I could hear Blake chattering on about how Lucy probably had a good reason to hire the woman currently engaged in a staredown with me.“... and if you’re so hung up about the terrible coffee, how about making your own or getting some from the coffee shop, you entitled fucker. And while you’re at it, buy a cup for the newbie and try to make her feel welcome.”“Your coffee.” The words were a mere whisper as the newbie in question hurried into the office, head lowered, white knuckled hand curled around the mug. She set it on the desk and without another glance, hurried out, pulling the door shut behind her.Well, shit. Now I felt like the world’s biggest asshole.BlairI stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. A pale, dark haired girl with haunted brown eyes that looked enormous set against a face made gaunt from hunger and malnutrition stared back at me. I studied my sunken cheeks and chapped lips sadly, thankful that at least, the swelling was gone and the bruises mostly faded.Grunge emo chick.Mac’s words echoed in my head and I let out a sigh. To think my life had come to this, where a bastard like Mac Walsh could casually level insults my way and assume I was a drug addict because of my physical appearance.Not that I blamed him, I did look exactly like he’d described, I’d give him that, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. I’d endured years of verbal abuse from Resse that I thought I’d developed a thick skin, but somehow, Mac’s words cut me deeper than I cared to admit.My lips trembled as unwanted memories swarmed me, triggering tendrils of anxiety that tightened a vice around my chest squeezing until every breath was a struggl
BlairA similar heat flared in Mac’s eyes, and from the depths of his chest, I heard a deep rumbling that came out as a growl. His arms tightened around me, possessive and passionate and for one moment, I caught a glimpse of the beast within him, ferocious and magnificent all at once.For the first time in months, Trish stirred within me, I could feel her agitation because she was me and I was her, but it wasn’t an agitation borne of terror, no this was different. It almost felt… joyful?I heard a word and realized it came from my own mouth and even more shocking were the words I uttered, words I never expected to utter again in this lifetime.I went cold all over as shock rocked through my entire body.“No…” I shook my head in denial. Placing my hands on his chest, I pushed and mercifully, he let me go, so abruptly that I almost lost my balance again.His arm reached out to cup my elbow, but I shrank from him and to my absolute horror, I whimpered in fear, my arms coming up to shield
MacDespite my best efforts, the scene with Blair in the hallway kept playing over and over in my head as I drove towards the ranch. I had gone after her, haunted by the hurt I’d seen reflected in her eyes as she hurried away from my office. I might be a bastard, but I still had a shred of a conscience left and I knew I had gone too far and that an apology was in order.I had just rounded the corner when Blair had bumped into me at full speed, her tiny form bouncing off mine and if I hadn't reached out and grabbed her, she’d have definitely landed her ass on the floor.I still couldn’t figure out why I had reacted to her the way I had. From the moment our bodies had come into contact, my senses had flared into hyperawareness, my beast had craved to have the woman in my arms.And it hadn’t just been me that had felt it. I’d seen the flare of arousal in Blair’s eyes, the way she’d titled her head, lips parted, longing for satisfaction. That look had almost been my undoing. I’d nearly gi
Mac“Well, if it isn’t Tweedle dum and Tweedle dee,” Lucy quipped as Blake and I walked into her office. Brice, her assistant, who happened to be in the room, choked back a laugh, disguising it with a cough. I scowled at him and the cheeky bugger mumbled an excuse under his breath and hurried out, shutting the door behind him.“Please tell your mate to mind the way she speaks to her boss.” I complained to Blake in exasperation. “It’s bloody disrespectful.”Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee was the nickname Lucy had adopted for Blake and I back in boarding school, because in her opinion, both of us were practically one and the same person, just split into two separate bodies. It was a nickname I didn’t find particularly amusing and Lucy took full advantage of it, using it when she wanted to rile me up.“Just admit that you like it, dude.” Blake chuckled, clapping me on the back before crossing to place a welcome kiss on his mate’s cheek. He pulled her into his arms and she went willingly. “H
Blair“Please have a seat, Blair.” Dr. Strand spoke in the same gentle tone he’d used with me out on the main floor. I shook my head to decline his offer and moved instead to stand close to the door. I could feel him watching me intently and it made me even more uncomfortable.“I prefer to stand.” I replied, careful to not meet his gaze. My heart was frantically pounding in my chest, and I could feel goosebumps prickle my skin as fresh panic seized me.What kind of bad luck was this? Of all the people to run into, it had to be the doctor who’d treated my injuries, and even unfortunate, he remembered me out of all the dozens of patients he must have attended to in the two months since our encounter.Strand…I silently cursed myself for not making the connection sooner. Lucy’s last name was Strand and so was this doctor. He had called her ‘babe’ back there, so did that mean they were a couple? Probably.Another memory popped up in my head, confirming my earlier suspicions. He had litera
Mac“I just want to get the general idea of what you two talked about.” I told Blake for what felt like the hundredth time. I could literally hear his eyeballs move as he rolled his eyes, fully fed up with my bullshit, but I didn’t let it deter me. “She’s my employee - if there’s something to know, you should tell me.”Blake snorted and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Key word being ‘employee’. That doesn’t mean you have the right to nose into her private business. An employee is not an indentured servant, no matter what you may think of yours.”“I’m aware of that, but still, c'mon dude, at least give me a hint.” I urged, tugging my shirt over my head and tossing it unceremoniously to the side, which earned me a scowl from the fastidious Lucy. I shot her an apologetic smile and picked the offending fabric back up, folded it neatly then placed it among the pile.“I’m not telling you shit. Leave it alone” Blake declared. He shucked off his jeans and underwear and stood there arms on waist
BlairI’d intended to get off work early today, it was a Friday after all, which usually meant everyone was in a hurry to start the weekend and fucked off as soon as they could. By 2pm, almost everyone had already left, including Mac and I’d been prepared to lock up, but a phone call from the logistics company that handled our deliveries had kept me back. By the time Ben, the driver, pulled into the loading bay, it was already close to 3:30pm.I watched him place the last box containing lab supplies at the top of the stack, shifting impatiently from foot to foot, silently urging him to hurry up so I could close up for the day.I glanced once more at my watch. It was already 4:14pm which just left me a little over half an hour to get to the shelter closest to the office. If I was lucky, there would still be available beds and a warm place to pass the night and if I wasn't lucky…I didn't want to think of the consequences just yet.It would certainly be unpleasant. That much I knew. A co
One Hour EarlierMac“The witch’s in the cabin.” Blake fell into step beside me. We were heading towards the cabin, the farthest from the main house. I cast out my senses over the area, wrinkling my nose as I picked out a scent that did not belong.It was a human scent, but tainted with strong hints of the Lore. Which made sense since witches, unlike other Lorekind, were actually human. Lore had it that the first witch had been blessed by Hermia with powers which had then passed to her descendants.As we neared, I spotted three of my strongest wolves standing guard. I nodded in silent approval as they stepped aside to let me into the cabin.A young woman rose as I entered, turning towards me. I took a moment to study her - long raven colored hair, high cheekbones, porcelain skin and a killer body. She was beautiful in a way that was meant to stun and seduce, but I was willing to bet an arm that that wasn’t what she really looked like. Underneath that glamour spell, she could be a seve